2011 Christmas Celebration

Now every child that dwells on Earth

Stand up, stand up and sing

The passing night has given birth

Unto the children's king

Sing sweet as the flute

Sing clear as the horn

Sing joy for the children

Come Christmas the morn

Little Christ Jesus

Our brother is born.

CHOIR SINGS: # Gloria in excelsis Deo

# Gloria, gloria

CHOIR HARMONISES

# Gloria, gloria

# In excelsis Deo. #

Welcome to Paisley Abbey

for a special programme of seasonal words and music

to take us into Christmas Day.

We've got some spectacular music for you, as well as some terrific poems.

And what a setting!

This ancient building is one of Scotland's greatest architectural and religious treasures.

With me in the abbey are some of Scotland's most talented young singers and musicians -

the prize-winning Inverclyde Junior Choir,

the Trebles from Paisley Abbey Choir,

the current British Youth Brass Band champions from Carnoustie,

and the famous Dunblane Cathedral Youth Handbell Ringers,

and if that wasn't enough,

we have young actors from the Scottish Youth Theatre

to perform some Christmas poems for us.

Quite a line-up.

So let's begin our celebrations with a much-loved carol

that takes us back to where the story began more than 2,000 years ago...

# Once in royal David's city

# Stood a lowly cattle shed

# Where a mother laid her baby

# In a manger for his bed

# Mary was that mother mild

# Jesus Christ her little child

# He came down to earth from heaven

# Who is God and Lord of all

# And His shelter was a stable

# And His cradle was a stall

# With the poor and meek and lowly

# Lived on earth our Saviour holy

# Not in that poor lowly stable

# With the oxen standing by

# We shall see Him, but in heaven

# Set at God's right hand on high

# When like stars His children crowned

# All in white shall wait around. #

Open the window

What do you see?

A sprig of holly

A Christmas tree

Reindeer, Santa's sleigh

Mistletoe, a snowy day

A robin redbreast

A blazing fire

Christmas cards

A church choir

A box of crackers

A frozen pond

A Christmas cake

A fairy with a wand

A big parcel

A chocolate bar

A Christmas pudding

A toy car

An angel

A shining star

Shepherds on a hillside

A stable bare

And three wise men worshipping

The baby lying there.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play

And wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, goodwill to men

And thought how the day had come

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, goodwill to men

Till ringing, singing on its way

The world revolved from night to day

A voice, a chime

A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, goodwill to men

And in despair, I bowed my head

"There is no peace on earth," I said

"For hate is strong

"And mocks the song

"Of peace on earth, goodwill to men

Then peeled the bells more loud than deep

God is not dead, nor doth he sleep

The wrong shall fail

The right prevail

With peace on earth, goodwill to men.

# One candle

# One light

# Burning clear throughout the night

# One candle

# One symbol of peace

# One candle, plus one

# Now a glimmer has begun

# Two candles, two symbols of peace

# Donna nobis...

CHOIR HARMONISES

# In the glow of candlelight I see

# Donna nobis...

CHOIR HARMONISES

# Peace for you and me

# Three candles, then four

# Shining stronger than before

# Five candles, six candles

# Burn bright

# More candles join in

# See a spark of hope begin

# Each candle increasing the light

# Donna nobis...

CHOIR HARMONISES

# In the glow of candlelight I see

# Donna nobis...

CHOIR HARMONISES

# Peace for you and me

# Your candlelight with mine

# Will radiate and shine

# Growing stronger

# For all the world to see

# You and me

# Donna nobis...

CHOIR HARMONISES

# In the glow of candlelight I see

# Donna nobis...

CHOIR HARMONISES

# Peace for you and me

# Peace for you

# And me

# Peace. #

What a lovely song that is,

beautifully sung there by the Inverclyde Junior Choir.

With its message of peace,

Andy Beck's song seems to strike the right note for Christmas Eve.

Our next carol also has the theme of peace.

It was first sung on Christmas Eve, 1818,

in the Church of St Nicholas in the village of Oberndorf in Austria.

With its gentle rocking melody and simple message,

it's since become the world's most popular carol.

It is, of course, Silent Night.

# Silent night

# Holy night

# Sleeps the world

# Hid from sight

# Mary and Joseph in stable bare

# Watch o'er the child

# Beloved and fair

# Sleep in heavenly rest

# Sleep in heavenly rest

# Silent night

# Holy night

# Shepherds first saw the sight

# Glory straight from heaven above

# Heavenly hosts sing hallelujah

# Christ the Saviour is born

# Christ the Saviour is born

# Silent night

# Holy night

# Son of God

# O how bright

# Love is shining from thy face

# Strikes for us now

# The hour of grace

# Saviour, since thou art born

# Saviour, since thou art born. #

One way or another, everyone's going to Bethlehem tonight -

Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the angels, the wise men, you and me.

For Bethlehem is more than just the town on the outskirts of Jerusalem

where Jesus was born, where Mary gave birth to the eternal Son of God -

it is the place where God shares our human life,

where we can come close to God and gaze upon him.

So where do we find OUR Bethlehem,

our place of encounter with God?

Let me suggest two places.

We find our Bethlehem where human love is at its purest and best,

as in the love of Mary and Joseph for the Christ child,

a self-giving, self-denying love that we believe has its origin in the heart of God.

And we find our Bethlehem among those for whom life is not comfortable,

but is hard, as it was for Mary, Joseph and Jesus that first Christmas.

When we stop in our busy lives and do something to help those for whom life is a real struggle,

then we discover that we too have arrived at Bethlehem

and in the company of Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men

find ourselves gazing on the very face of God,

so come, all ye faithful, come to Bethlehem.

# O come all ye faithful

# Joyful and triumphant

# O come ye

# O come ye to Bethlehem

# Come and behold him

# Born the King of angels

# O come, let us adore him!

# O come, let us adore him!

# O come, let us adore him

# Christ the Lord!

# Sing, choirs of angels

# Sing in exultation

# Sing, all ye citizens of heav'n above

# Glory to God in the highest

# O come, let us adore him!

# O come, let us adore him!

# O come, let us adore him

# Christ the Lord!

# Yea, Lord, we greet thee

# Born this happy morning

# O Jesus, for evermore

# be thy name adored

# Word of the Father

# Now in flesh appearing

# O come, let us adore him!

# O come, let us adore him!

# O come, let us adore him!

# Christ the Lord! #

"O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant."

What a magnificent sound to welcome Christmas.

I can still hear it reverberating around the whole abbey.

Yes, Christmas is here.

On behalf of us all here in Paisley Abbey,

may I wish you, wherever you are, a very happy Christmas.

It's a time for rejoicing

and the Inverclyde Junior Choir are certainly in a celebratory mood.

Here they are with a new, exciting, up-tempo setting of the familiar words -

unto us a child is born.

# Unto us a child is born

# Unto us a son is given

# He shall reign in all the earth

# He will be called Emmanuel

# Unto us a child is born

# Unto us a son is given

# He shall reign in all the earth

# He will be called Emmanuel

# Angel voices sing

# Hallelujahs ring

# For today in Bethlehem

# The love of God has come to me

The saviour of the world is Christ the king

# Unto us a child is born

# Unto us a son is given

# He shall reign in all the earth

# He will be called Emmanuel

# Unto us a child is born

# Unto us a son is given

# He shall reign in all the earth

# He will be called Emmanuel

# Leave your cares aside

# Seek and you will find

# For today in Bethlehem

# The love of God has come to me

# The saviour of the world is Jesus Christ

# Unto us a child is born

# Unto us a son is given

# He shall reign in all the earth

# He will be called Emmanuel

# Unto us a child is born

# Unto us a son is given

# He shall reign in all the earth

# He will be called Emmanuel

# Come let us adore

# Now and evermore

# For today in Bethlehem

# The love of God has come to men

# The saviour of the world is Christ the Lord

# Unto us a child is born

# Unto us a son is given

# He shall reign in all the earth

# He will be called Emmanuel

# Unto us a child is born

# Unto us a son is given

# He shall reign in all the earth

# He will be called Emmanuel

# He will be called Emmanuel

# He will be called Emmanuel! #

There's a star at the top of the Christmas tree

On the floor the parcels are piled

The light of the star is reflected

In the eyes of a happy child

A star shone out at Bethlehem

So wonderful and rare

It showed the way to the baby

In the stable cold and bare

It showed the way to the wise men

Who hoped to find a king

But all they found in that stable

Was a little baby thing

There's an angel on the Christmas tree

Dressed in shining white

With arms outstretched to greet us all

On this blessed, holy night

There's candles on the Christmas tree

Shedding forth their light

Enfolding us in their glowing warmth

On this our Christmas night

Christmas trees, stars and angels

Candles burning bright

What do they mean to us all right now

As we think of the first Christmas night?

# O little town of Bethlehem

# How still we see thee lie

# Above thy deep and dreamless sleep

# The silent stars go by

# Yet in thy dark streets shineth

# The everlasting light

# The hopes and fears of all the years

# Are met in thee tonight

# How silently, how silently

# The wondrous gift is giv'n

# So God imparts to human hearts

# The blessings of His heav'n

# No ear may hear his coming

# But in this world of sin

# Where meek souls will receive him

# Still the dear Christ enters in

# O holy child of Bethlehem

# Descend to us, we pray

# Cast out our sin and enter in

# Be born in us today

# We hear the Christmas angels

# The great glad tidings tell

# O come to us, abide with us

# Our Lord Emmanuel. #

BELL RESONATES

Isn't that a lovely sound?

The handbell is one of the world's oldest instruments.

They were first described in China as far back as 1600 BC.

Since then, they've been associated with many the world's great religions, particularly Buddhism.

In medieval times, it was common for Christians to travel throughout Europe

ringing handbells when they spread the news of the risen Christ,

summoning people to congregate and pray.

Eventually, large bronze bells were cast and church towers were constructed to house them.

It was thought they were a more efficient way of summoning the faithful to prayer,

but there's something especially moving about the clear and magical sound of the handbell.

Maybe you'll agree when you hear them ring out this well-known 16th century carol tune.

PLAYS INTRO TO "Rocking"

# Little Jesus, sweetly sleep

# Do not stir

# We will lend a coat of fur

# We will rock you

# Rock you, rock you

# We will rock you, rock you

# See the fur to keep you warm

# Snugly round your tiny form

# Mary's little baby, sleep

# Sweetly sleep

# Sleep in comfort slumber deep

CHOIR HARMONISES

# We will rock you

# Rock you, rock you

# We will serve you all we can

# Darling, darling little man. #

Have you ever wondered

Where Santa leaves his sleigh?

# When he brings toys for girls and boys

To find on Christmas Day?

For reindeers, all the rooftops

Are much too smooth and steep

One slip, and they'd go sliding down

And land in one big heap

But if they were in the garden

How could Santa, with his sack,

Climb right up to the rooftop

Then climb down the chimney stack?

There's too much danger on the roads

So where CAN he leave his sleigh?

Perhaps you'd like to ask him

When he comes round your way!

Auntie Mimi's mistletoe

She ties it to her head

And goes round kissing everyone

She kissed my Uncle Fred

She kissed my mum, she kissed my dad

The postman and the cat

She kissed the man next door so hard

She squashed his glasses flat

She kissed my little brother

Though he hid behind a tree

And now she's coming my way

But she won't get me!

I have a feeling that wee boy's still running!

Now the Carnoustie and District Youth Brass Band have had a meteoric rise to fame.

They were only formed in 2008,

yet they have won the British Youth Brass Band Championships for the last two years.

And here's some news hot off the press -

BBC Radio 2 have just announced

that Carnoustie have won the BBC's prestigious Youth Band of the Year award -

a magnificent achievement in so short a time.

Let's listen to these supremely talented youngsters

as they play a medley of popular Christmas tunes.

THEY PLAY "Winter Wonderland"

CHANGES TO "White Christmas"

CHANGES TO "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"

CHANGES TO "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer"

CHANGES TO "Jingle Bells"

CHANGES TO "We Wish You A Merry Christmas"

Thank you for joining us here in this wonderful setting

and for sharing the first few moments of Christmas with us.

I hope you were inspired as I was by the wonderful performances of those talented young people.

My thanks to them all.

Wherever YOU are, may it be a happy and peaceful time for you.

From Paisley Abbey, good night and a very merry Christmas.

# Hark! the herald angels sing

# Glory to the newborn King!

# Peace on earth and mercy mild

# God and sinners reconciled

# Joyful, all ye nations rise

# Join the triumph of the skies

# With the angelic host proclaim

# Christ is born in Bethlehem

# Hark! the herald angels sing

# Glory to the newborn King!

# Hail! the heavenborn Prince of Peace

# Hail! the Sun of Righteousness

# Light and life to all he brings

# Risen with healing in his wings

# Mild, he lays his glory by

# Born that man no more may die

# Born to raise the sons of earth

# Born to give them second birth

# Hark! the herald angels sing

# Glory to the newborn King! #

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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